Advance vs. XXV (Both Harmon)?

Advance

XXV

First of all, I have to say how much I love this Forum! I've never seen so many helpful and knowledgeable people working together, it's great! Because of this site, I've redirected my choice of stove (and hopefully it's the right choice). I am down to the final decision of model: Harmon Advance vs. Harmon XXV. The XXV is another $250 approximately with a slight edge of 50,000 btu's as opposed to The Advance's 48,000. My wife and I both like the look of both, but like the cast iron look of the XXV slightly more than the modern look of the Advance. There is a different blower fan on the Advance that is slightly more pleasant on the ears (not necessarily quieter, but you hear the air gushing air as opposed to the fan motor). With this being said, knowing how many veterans there are out there, is there any advice to be giving that may persuade me one way or the other? My house is a contemporary two story house. The stove will be put in our living room on the main floor which has a 15" cathedral ceiling with a large ceiling fan to move the air. I look forward to the responses! Thanks. Kurt

The XXV has one way glass
The advance has ALOT of glass to keep clean
I believe the XXV is easier to clean (less panels to remove)
As far as max BTU's don't worry they are not gonna ever need to put out that many anyway.
XXV wasn't an option for me back years ago and the wife liked the Bay window on the Advance.
It all comes down to what YOU (or the Mrs.) like

Thanks for the replies. I see a trend! I guess this means "I'M" going to have to make the decision! lol! I think in the end I'll pass the responsibility over to my wife and let her pick the one she thinks is "prettier!" and make sure it's maintained well! Thanks to all for the comments.

Since I'm in a neighboring province,I'm wondering if you looked at the stoves in the home hardware catalog.I looked at pretty much every kind of stove-but when I saw the eco-45,seemed like the one. No chrome mind you but seems like a reliable unit with lots of heat.Just did a cleaning after 70 bags-all seems well. I'm handy so service means little to me-there are lots of shops in town.I also should give a plug for the pellet pipe with the gaskets in it so you don't have to use silicone-same price and a breeze to take apart-they have it in stock where I bought it.Thanks goodness they steered me in the right direction cuz I was all set for the silcone and tape deal. pete

Pete, thanks for the heads up on the piping! It will be a definate for me now as well! I'm sorta "anal" about keeping things well maintained etc. So that will definetly be a must for me. I checked a Home Hardware by my place and they had nothing on display, and when I finally got some service, the guy couldn't answer any of my specific questions but gave me a brocure! That scared me away from there! I'm big on customer service, and unfortunately, PEI is not always great on the customer service side of things!

if you can't find the piping there,maritime fireplaces here in moncton has it in stock.They also have a lot of used pipe and parts which is good also.The home hardware here is also a building supply store,have a lumber mill and are suposed to be producing pellets sometime in the future.The stove I mentioned is made in quebec but bought it sight unseen since they had no stock here-not something most people would do without some homework.Hope everything works out for you. pete

Can't wait for the stores to open tomorrow so I can go shopping! (First I have to make the hearth) Just doing some more comparisons b/n the Advance and XXV on the Harmon website. I'm wandering if anybody would know why the XXV states at 0-50,000 btu's, it's heating capacity is:1700+ sq ft (with the "+" added); while they advertize the advance as 48,000 with a heating capacity of: 1500 sq ft (with out the "+"). So I'm just wondering what would make these two models slightly different on output of btu's yet it kinda looks like theXXV will heat quite a larger area. Mechanically, are these two stoves very similar on the insides?
Maybe it's a guy thing. Like I'm about to buy a Corvette and the convertable has a few more horsepower than the hard top, yet both with the same motor, and I just want to know "why?" When the reality is, I'll probably never get to really "open it up" anyway! Or maybe I just over-anylize things before spending a few thousand
Thanks and I appreciate all the input.
PS, the Corvette thing is completely made up, so don't go buying the convertable tomorrow!

Hmmm.....with a larger heat exchanger area, you'd think the advance would have the"edge" on the Btu's. With all this talk on the other thread re: smoke in the accentra's hopper leading to the topic of a mod. needed and the #2 being etched in the newer/updated models; just wondering if this was a problem with all harmon models or just specific to the accentra. Nonetheless, it's so reassuring to buy one of these units knowing that this cite is here full of helpfull and knowledgeable folks!

OK, I layed the tile down last night for my hearth, now for the grout tomorrow and a new pellet stove next week! I still haven't decided on which model yet, I want the XXV but either there aren't many Advance owners out there, or none with any issues and more owners of XXV's with issues! Because I never here good or bad re: the Advance, yet I'm seeing plenty of little things getting posted on the XXV. Does the XXV have lots off bugs that need to worked out, or are many of the issues getting posted "typical" tweeks that occer with a new pellet stove? My only other issue is what kind of questions I should be asking the dealer to ensure he is the guy to go with. If anyone out there has any suggestions, I'd love to hear them. Thanks, Kurt (future pellet stove owner).

The xxv is still a fairly new model with a different blower... there were some issues with it making noise but I believe has been resolved..
the Advance had it's share of problems in the past but most if not all have been resolved....
regardless of what you get they are pretty much the same except for looks, and what I posted above...... so therin lies the decision...... which one......HMMMMM :-/

I have an XXV and so far very happy. I have only had it a little over two months and no problems. Occasional noise here and there but nothing that is bothersome. It puts out a tremendous amount of heat and it looks great.

Ok, you guys have me "stoked!" And thanks to you guys and this site, I'm very careful where/what I invest my money on, and this site has given a great sense of reasurence. My wife and I are constantly reading the different threads; it's like having your own team of technitions in your living room. A great insurance and comfort, thanks!
PS, I'm about 85% on the XXV, but I'll definetly post what I get next week!
In the mean time, anymore thoughts on what kind of questions I can drill at my dealer to "test" his worthiness of my $$?

Ok, you guys have me "stoked!" And thanks to you guys and this site, I'm very careful where/what I invest my money on, and this site has given a great sense of reasurence. My wife and I are constantly reading the different threads; it's like having your own team of technitions in your living room. A great insurance and comfort, thanks!
PS, I'm about 85% on the XXV, but I'll definetly post what I get next week!
In the mean time, anymore thoughts on what kind of questions I can drill at my dealer to "test" his worthiness of my $$?

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another happy XXV owner...no need to drill the dealer....maybe just let him know you are looking at this forum and learning allot. See what his attitude is. Are you installing it yourself? Or is he? If he is then i think I would want to know how he feels about being called back to solve any issues you might have. BTW, I have had zero problems with mine and it is heating my entire house (2500sqft). Some rooms it can't keep up with, but the upstairs is always toasty warm. Its not rated to be able to keep 2500 sqft warm....but it gets very close.

This site gets addicting for sure! be forwarned-
it will get worse after you get your stove. :lol:

Big question for the dealer should be the service on the stove.
Harman does not deal with customers directly so you will have to rely on
your dealer's support should you need it. Many dealers around here will
not service stoves if they did not sell it to you.

i have the xxv bought in sept. had it painted by dealer had leaves painted fall colors, so far i scrape burn pot every other day and clean glass
weekly dump ash pan vaccum heat exchanger throws out plenty of heat easy so far easy to maintain. if you decide to purchase it the tool that
comes with it to scrape burn pot isnt the best. got some information from another member to buy craftsman 17 inch pry bar and it works great.
heating 2 story home in wisconsin averaging a bag a day. house 73 down stairs up stairs around 66 deg.i was debating between both stoves
but glad i purchased this one.

I won't be installing it but I am quite crafty (build my hearth last night). I will be watching the installation every step of the way! So I'll be sure to ask about servicing the unit and doing warrenty work. Any other thoughts? Thanks for the comments!